Wales in Europe: Chance for more students to extend horizons

Horizon 2020, the European Union’s next innovation fund, could aid Welsh researchers but our universities are already making waves. Our new series, Wales in Europe, considers the contribution of Welsh higher education abroad. In part three, Huw Morris, academic registrar at Swansea University, considers the wealth of opportunities available to Welsh students overseas

Cardiff University encourages students to spend time abroad during their studies

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In July 2013, the European Commission published a communication entitled “European Higher Education in the World”.

The paper, which spells outs the key priorities for higher education institutions and member states, aims to assist universities in preparing their comprehensive international strategies and encourages greater opportunities for staff and students to gain international experiences, through “mobility” placements.

This short article highlights how Welsh universities are influencing policy developments in the UK and Europe and also encouraging Welsh students to benefit from initiatives at Welsh universities aimed at developing and strengthening the skill base for graduates.

As the EU aims to become a “smart, sustainable and inclusive economy which generates growth and prosperity”, the European Commission recognises that students need to be trained as “global graduates” in preparation for the global employment marketplace.

Evidence suggests that “mobility” experiences undertaken during degree courses better prepare students not only for their academic studies but also for securing employment in the international marketplace.

Exposure to international experiences offers a global perspective and culturally diverse outlook. It is, therefore, incumbent on Welsh universities to ensure that their graduates can compete for employment overseas and for graduate employment opportunities in Wales and the UK, against competition from internationally mobile students.

The Riordan Report, published in 2012, arose from a national joint steering group on “outward student mobility” and noted the low participation rates in the outward mobility of UK students. This led in April 2013, to the establishment of the UK Outward Mobility Unit, chaired by Professor Colin Riordan, the vice-chancellor of Cardiff University.

It published a consultation document on the different ways of promoting opportunities for students to benefit from their international experiences. An Outward Mobility Strategy for the UK is currently under development by Universities UK. The proposed strategy will present options for UK universities to adopt different approaches to the inclusion of international elements within their degree programmes, in addition to the traditional year-out model.

Despite attracting large numbers of international exchange students to the UK, the number of UK students going abroad is significantly less, indicating that there is still considerable work to be done to encourage students to undertake international mobility placements as a part of their degree.

The Bologna reforms and the Erasmus Mundus programmes:

Since the early 1990s, universities throughout Europe have worked collectively to develop policies aimed at introducing consistencies between the different higher education systems of the member states.

Through what is called the “Bologna process”, universities throughout Europe have been encouraged to work within common frameworks and to adopt a common approach to degree structures. Much of the work has been co-ordinated by the European Universities’ Association (EUA), which represents the views of universities throughout Europe.

In 2010, a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was created, in which student and staff movement was encouraged. Joint degrees have been developed between universities and greater recognition of study has been achieved by allowing students to transfer credits and awards from one country to another.

The Bologna process has led to greater cross-border collaboration, the most significant of which has been the development of degrees offered by more than one university from different countries.

These “joint degrees” are proving extremely attractive for students from all over the world who recognise that they will better prepare them for a global employment marketplace through their enhanced experience, knowledge and language skills.

It is well established that joint degrees improve the employability and earning power of students. The flagship of the joint degrees are the Erasmus Mundus programmes, which are postgraduate degrees offered by consortia of at least three European universities – students are required to study in more than one country. Consortia must apply to the European Commission, through an extremely competitive process, to be authorised to promote joint degrees using the Erasmus Mundus brand.

In addition, “mobility and recognition tools” have been developed to facilitate the trans-national movement of students, the most important being the “diploma supplement” - a document which promotes students’ academic and international experiences and achievement in a standard format throughout Europe.

To encourage and facilitate these changes a team of 13 Bologna experts was set up in the UK, whose job it is to help inform UK higher education institutions about the Bologna process reform and encourage UK universities to engage more proactively in the Bologna internationalisation programme. In Wales, I have the honour of being the Bologna expert who represents the Welsh higher education institutions.

Collectively, universities in Wales offer a wide range of opportunities for students to gain from exchange experiences, by studying at a partner university. However, more work needs to be done in terms of increasing student take-up rates and in terms of diversifying the nature of the placements. Statistics indicate that significant inroads need to be made at a few Welsh institutions.

Welsh universities punching above their weight:

This portfolio of opportunities will in time become more diverse as universities bid for European funding, under the Erasmus+ programme, for resources to promote student and staff mobility.

Both Swansea and Cardiff universities have taken proactive measures to encourage more students to spend a part of their degree programmes abroad, and statistics already indicate that what appeared to be ambitious targets are being met and exceeded.

Cardiff Metropolitan University (CMU) recently organised a week-long conference at its Llandaff campus designed to facilitate an exchange of ideas between its staff and colleagues from all over Europe on ways of collaborating to provide innovative mobility experiences for students.

CMU has also led a European-funded project through an international consortium of universities, which fosters better understanding between European universities and those in the Middle-East. The CMU project facilitates the exchange of students, researchers, academic and administrative staff from EU countries and the Middle-East and is possibly the most successful UK university to have attracted Erasmus Mundus (Action 2) funding.

Welsh universities’ performance against competition from other UK and European universities, in peer assessed application processes, has been impressive for a small country. For example, three Welsh universities have been successful in securing funding to support the development of joint degrees through the prestigious Erasmus Mundus programme.

Swansea University has been one of the most successful universities in the UK, having secured funding to support two Erasmus Mundus masters degrees and one Erasmus Mundus doctoral programme in engineering.

The latter degree is offered in collaboration with three leading research universities in France, Germany and Spain - the consortium’s bid was one of 10 bids that received support by the European Commission out of a total of 170 similar submissions.

Bangor University secured the prestigious Erasmus Mundus doctoral degree funding as well as funding to support two masters programmes. Given that Cardiff University has also secured Erasmus Mundus funding to support a joint degree programme, it means half of the Welsh universities have now been successful in the Erasmus Mundus programme - a really impressive record for a small country.

Another success story for Wales has been the award to Swansea University of the European Commission’s Diploma Supplement Label in 2009. Swansea is one of only three universities in the UK which has been awarded the label. Another example where Swansea University is contributing to policy reform is its involvement to the MAUNIMO (Mapping University Mobility of Staff and Students) project. One of only four universities in Europe to have been invited to participate and funded by the European Commission, this project assists universities in developing internationalisation strategies and promote mobility opportunities for staff and students.

Finally, Swansea University and Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble recently entered into a formal strategic partnership through which a wide range of collaborative activities will be promoted. Alongside this, and with the support of Cardiff University, the Welsh Government and the French Embassy, Swansea has led a project to establish a formal Franco-Welsh Alliance. The alliance will develop a framework through which interaction and collaboration between Welsh and French research-led universities will be encouraged and facilitated.